Field ArTillery - US Army Center Of Military History

The nUclear arena
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the missile commands, allied forces were assured of the immediate availability of
nuclear firepower even though it remained under the control of U.S. authorities.
The 1st United States Army Missile Command, a major component of the Southern
European Task Force, was operational in Italy between 1957 and 1965; the 2d, first
at Fort Hood in Texas and later at Fort Carson in Colorado between 1957 and 1961.
Neither was organ ized precisely as outlined in the tables. The 1st originally had two
Honest John battalions and two Corporal battalions, but no group headquarters; the
2d had a group headquarters, but only two Honest John battalions and one Corporal
bat talion. In 1969 the 1st, which had turned over its Honest Johns to the Italian army
in 1959, was reorgan ized around the Sergeant missile—the Corporal’s replacement.
The new structure consisted of a headquarters and headquarters com pany, a Sergeant
battalion, a transportation detachment for air craft repairs, an engineer company, an
aviation company for sur veillance, and an ordnance battalion. 26
The 3d and 4th United States Army Missile Commands were organized as air
transportable units, built around an Honest John battalion to support divisions with
rocket and atomic firepower. The tables authorized each command a headquarters
and headquarters company, an Honest John battalion, a signal company, a rifle
company for local security, an engineer combat company, and a support company,
with an authorized aggregate strength of about 1,100. The 3d served at Fort Bragg,
North Carolina, from 1957 to 1963, and the 4th supported the Eighth Army and the
First Republic of Korea Army in Korea from 1958 to 1978. Although plans were
made for a heavy missile command, organized in much the same manner as the
Redstone field artillery missile group, such a unit was never activated. 27
26 On the 1st and 2d Missile Commands, see Ltr, AGAO–O (M) (19 Dec 1957) DCSPER, 26 Dec
1957, sub: Change in Status of Certain Units; TOE 39–61T, 1956; Ltr, AGAO–O (M) 322 (13 Jun
1958) DCSPER, 2 Jul 1958, sub: Change in Status of Certain Units; DOD News Release, “Two Missile
Commands Now Included in Strategic Army Corps,” 18 Nov 1958; Ltr, AGAO–O (M) 322 (12 Apr 57)
DCSPER, 18 Apr 1957, sub: Activation of the 2d United States Army Missile Command (Medium); Ltr,
AGAO–O (M) 322 (12 Feb 57) DCSPER, 5 Nov 57, sub: Activation of the Atomic Support Command
(Medium). All in respective unit fldrs, CMH files. See also Kenneth F. Dawalt, “2d U.S. Army Missile
Command (Medium),” Army Information Digest, March 1961, pp. 22–29; Monte Bourjaily, Jr., “Artillery
Beef-up in Works,” Army Times, January 1957, pp. 1, 10; “Missile Commands Near Firm Ground,”
ibid., October 1958, p. 20.
27 On the 3d and 4th Missile Commands, see DA Msg 50671, DCSPER to CG, First Army, et
al., 13 Mar 1957; Ltr, AGAO–O (M) 322 (12 Feb 1957) DCSPER, 14 Feb 1957, sub: Activation of
the Atomic Support Command (Air Transportable); Ltr, AGAO–O (M) 322 (12 Apr 1957) DCSPER,
18 Apr 1957, sub: Activation of the 3d United States Army Missile Command (Air Transportable);
Ltr, AGAO–O (M) 322 (24 Apr 1957) DCSPER, 11 Oct 1957, sub: Reorganization of the 3d United
States Army Missile Command (Air Transportable); Ltr, AGAO–O (M) 322 (21 Oct 1958) DCSPER,
13 Nov 1958, sub: Change in Status of Certain Units; DOD News Release, “Two Missile Commands
Now Included in Strategic Army Corps,” 18 Nov 1958; GO 339, Third Army, 28 Sep 1958; DA Msg
936727, DCSPER to CG, Eighth Army, 7 Feb 1958; Ltr, AGAO–O (M) 322 (27 Mar 1958) DCSPER,
9 Apr 1958, sub: Organization of the 4th United States Army Missile Command; Ltr, AGAO–O (M)
322 (2 Jul 58) DCSPER, 31 Jul 1958, sub: Change in Status of Certain Units; 1st End, EACS–MH (16
Nov 1972), 3 Jan 1973, sub: Operational Reports—Lessons Learned, 4th United States Army Missile
Command; Unit History, 3 Jan 73, sub: 4th United States Army Missile Command. All in respective
unit fldrs, CMH files. See also TOE 39–51T, 1956; TOE 39–51D, 18 May 1960; TOE 39–51G, 26 Apr
1968; George C. Dalia, “Atomic Punch for the Ground Gainers,” Army Information Digest, November
1958, pp. 2–10; “Missile Commands Near Firm Ground,” ibid., October 1958, p. 20.